Editing Kansai region (section)

==Overview==
[[File:Geofeatures map of Kansai Japan ja.svg|thumb|left|Geofeatures map of Kansai]]
[[File:Kansai Region Japan 2003.png|thumb|Kansai region, satellite photo]]
[[File:Akashi Bridge.JPG|thumb|left|The [[Akashi Kaikyō Bridge]], the longest suspension bridge in the world until 2022, with a centre span of 1,991&nbsp;m]]
The Kansai region is a cultural center and the historical heart of Japan, with 11% of the nation's land area and 22,757,897 residents as of 2010.<ref name=population /> The [[Osaka Plain]] with the cities of [[Osaka]] and [[Kyoto]] forms the core of the region. From there the Kansai area stretches west along the [[Seto Inland Sea]] towards [[Kobe]] and [[Himeji, Hyōgo|Himeji]], and east encompassing [[Lake Biwa]], Japan's largest freshwater lake. In the north, the region is bordered by the [[Sea of Japan]], to the south by the [[Kii Peninsula]] and the [[Pacific Ocean]], and to the east by the [[Ibuki Mountains]] and [[Ise Bay]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.pref.mie.jp/ENGLISH/overview/e_p03.pdf |title=Mie Prefecture homepage: About Mie (pdf) |access-date=2008-04-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080408215959/http://www.pref.mie.jp/ENGLISH/overview/e_p03.pdf |archive-date=2008-04-08 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Four of [[List of national parks of Japan|Japan's national parks]] lie within its borders, in whole or in part. The area also contains six of the seven top prefectures in terms of [[National Treasures of Japan|national treasure]]s.<ref name="kansai_now2">[http://www.kippo.or.jp/aboutkansai/eng/history_e02.html Kansai Now: History]{{Dead link|date=February 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, retrieved January 17, 2007</ref> Other geographical features include [[Amanohashidate]] in [[Kyoto Prefecture]] and [[Awaji Island]] in [[Hyōgo Prefecture|Hyōgo]].

The Kansai region is often compared with the [[Kantō region]], which lies to its east and consists primarily of [[Tokyo]] and the surrounding area. Whereas the Kantō region is symbolic of standardization throughout Japan, the Kansai region displays many more idiosyncrasies – the culture in [[Kyoto]], the mercantilism of [[Osaka]], the history of [[Nara, Nara|Nara]], or the cosmopolitanism of [[Kobe]] – and represents the focus of [[counterculture]] in Japan. This East-West rivalry has deep historical roots, particularly from the [[Edo period]]. With a samurai population of less than 1% the culture of the merchant city of Osaka stood in sharp contrast to that of [[Edo]], the seat of power for the [[Tokugawa shogunate]].<ref name="omusubi">[http://www.jpf.org.au/06_newsletter/hitokuchi_3new.pdf Omusubi] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061214022535/http://www.jpf.org.au/06_newsletter/hitokuchi_3new.pdf |date=2006-12-14 }} – "Japan's Regional Diversity", retrieved January 22, 2007</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.japan-guide.com/list/e1105.html|title=Kansai Region Travel Guide - Kinki Region Travel Guide|website=www.japan-guide.com|language=en|access-date=2018-08-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.japan.go.jp/regions/kansai.html|title=Kansai - JapanGov|website=JapanGov|language=en|access-date=2018-08-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/japan/kansai|title=Kansai travel - Lonely Planet|last=Planet|first=Lonely|website=Lonely Planet|language=en|access-date=2018-08-13}}</ref>

Many characteristic traits of Kansai people descend from Osaka merchant culture. Catherine Maxwell, an editor for the newsletter ''[[Omusubi]]'', writes: "Kansai residents are seen as being pragmatic, entrepreneurial, down-to-earth and possessing a strong sense of humor. Kantō people, on the other hand, are perceived as more sophisticated, reserved and formal, in keeping with Tokyo's history and modern status as the nation's capital and largest metropolis."<ref name="omusubi"/><ref name="prime_living">[http://www.livingabroadin.com/Japan/japan_primeliving.html Livingabroadin.com] – "Prime Living Locations in Japan", retrieved January 22, 2007</ref>

Kansai is known for its food, especially Osaka, as supported by the saying {{nihongo|"Kyotoites are ruined by overspending on clothing, Osakans are ruined by overspending on food."|京の着倒れ、大阪の食い倒れ|Kyō no Kidaore, Ōsaka no Kuidaore }}. Popular Osakan dishes include [[takoyaki]], [[okonomiyaki]], [[Udon|kitsune udon]] and [[kushikatsu]]. Kyoto is considered a mecca of traditional [[Japanese cuisine]] like [[kaiseki]]. Kansai has many [[wagyu]] brands such as [[Kobe beef]] and [[Tajima cattle]] from Hyōgo, [[Matsusaka beef]] from Mie and [[Ōmi beef]] from Shiga. [[Sake]] is another specialty of the region, the areas of [[Nada-Gogō]] and [[Fushimi-ku, Kyoto|Fushimi]] produce 45% of all sake in Japan.<ref>[http://www.kippo.or.jp/culture_e/syoku/sakejijo/sakejijo1.html Kansai Window] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425210822/http://www.kippo.or.jp/culture_e/syoku/sakejijo/sakejijo1.html |date=2009-04-25 }} – "Japan's number one sake production", retrieved January 24, 2007</ref> As opposed to food from Eastern Japan, food in the Kansai area tends to be sweeter, and foods such as [[nattō]] tend to be less popular.<ref name="omusubi"/><ref name="prime_living"/>

The [[Japanese dialects|dialects]] of the people from the Kansai region, commonly called ''[[Kansai dialect|Kansai-ben]]'', have their own variations of pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar. Kansai-ben is the group of dialects spoken in the Kansai area, but is often treated as a dialect in its own right.

Kansai is one of the most prosperous areas for baseball in Japan. Two [[Nippon Professional Baseball]] teams, [[Hanshin Tigers]] and [[Orix Buffaloes]], are based in Kansai. [[Koshien Stadium]], the home stadium of the Hanshin Tigers, is also famous for the [[High school baseball in Japan|nationwide high school baseball tournaments]]. In [[football (soccer)|association football]], the [[Kansai Soccer League]] was founded in 1966 and currently has 16 teams in two divisions. [[Cerezo Osaka]], [[Gamba Osaka]], and [[Vissel Kobe]] belong to [[J. League Division 1]] and [[Kyoto Sanga F.C.]] belongs to [[J. League Division 2]], the top professional leagues in Japan.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.japanvisitor.com/japan-travel/kansai-guide|title=Kansai {{!}} JapanVisitor Japan Travel Guide|website=www.japanvisitor.com|language=en|access-date=2018-08-13}}</ref>